Since Donald Trump got elected, there has been curiosity regarding what direction he intends to steer the United States.
There have been many protests around the country, disapproving Trump as President. To feel ever more fearful, Trump has been assembling his executive committee and cabinet. Specifically, one has been anointed as Chief Strategist in the Executive Branch: Stephen Bannon.
Bannon has been a trending individual in the news media. He is an American businessman and media executive. Steve Bannon was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs, then left launched a media-focused bank called Bannon & Co. Bannon made successful equity from the television show Seinfield and sold his business and became an executive movie producer in Hollywood, California. He produced and directed numerous films; some emphasize a right-wing compass like Occupy Unmasked. He eventually left the entertainment industry and focused more on political media.
Bannon has quite a diverse background, but essentially, he’s been publicly criticized for being an “Alt-Right” in the political spectrum. Bannon’s ex-wife has called him an anti-Semitic, which he denies.
Bannon is an executive chairman for a news outlet called Breitbart News, which is considered the far-right in news media. It attracts men’s right activists and white nationalists and has received accusations of Islamophobia. There were countless speculations Trump was highly favored on this news site during the presidential campaign. Bannon was also Donald Trump’s campaign manager, which would be a validation towards Trump favoritism in Breitbart.
Ben Shapiro, former editor-at-large of Breitbart, confirmed under Bannon’s leadership that the website has pushed white ethno-nationalism, and on the site, comments are filled with white supremacist annotations.
Alt-Right is basically far-right in politics; it focuses on more traditional aspects. Being far-right identifies a high-level of conservativism or extreme nationalism, which can oppose a lot of the socialism and modernism in the current society of the United States.
People who are far-right can be identified with conservative categories like fascism, Nazism, racist, xenophobic and the opposition to immigration. Affiliations of these particular groups can be lead to oppression and violence. With these type of far-right characteristics, will it play a role with Bannon on a national government plane?
It’s hard to gauge the motivations of Bannon, yet easy to feel fearful and furious of the Republican take-over. Americans who oppose this should be highly concerned when Trump’s presidency comes to affect where it will staff with skeptical, affluent, right side government influence.